Police are investigating after viral video from northern Saskatchewan shows an officer trying to break into a house then entering it with an axe to check on a Cree man in distress.
Lac La Ronge Indian Band member Jonas Hardlotte, 33, suffers from depression, anxiety and addiction issues.
On Tuesday, he needed help and called a family member.
That member called 911 and the Stanley Mission RCMP dispatched an officer. Two health clinic staff were dispatched as well.
When the Mountie arrived, Hardlotte said the officer was very aggressive after Hardlotte initially refused to open the door to him.
“I was looking through the window, and my cousin and I told him I’ll wait for the clinic before I open the door because his attitude, and his attitude and demeanour was intimidating,” he said.
Hardlotte began recording. The video shows the officer pounding the window demanding the door be opened.
“I told him straight out, I’ll open the door for the nurses when they get here. And he threatened to open the door with the sledgehammer. But instead of a sledgehammer, it was an axe. And I thought, I’ll just open the door before he damages my door or window.”
The video stops when the officer grabs Hardlotte’s cellphone. The officer and nurses left after determining that Hardlotte was physically okay.
He says the officer went too far.
“I didn’t understand why he was acting the way he was, his attitude and demeanour, the intimidation. You could see he was trying to smash my window when my cousin was talking to him. It’s a good thing the window didn’t smash. Otherwise, there would have been an injury also.”
RCMP F Division told APTN News they are investigating the incident, and the officer has been reassigned.
RCMP spokesman Cpl. Rob King said in a statement that police received a request for help from the clinic just before noon Tuesday after staff received a 911 call about a man who had injured himself.
King said an officer and two nurses arrived at a home and the officer could see through a window that a man was bleeding, so the Mountie attempted to get inside.
The Lac La Ronge Indian Band released a statement as well.
It calls the Mountie’s actions frightening and inappropriate, especially for a member believed to be in duress.
The statement says they are satisfied with the reassignment of the officer and will meet with RCMP to better resolve future situations.
-With files from The Canadian Press
